Mavs waste little time taking care of Pounders

October 17, 2018

The second ranked team in 4A—Anderson County Mavericks (8-0, 4-0) hosted the Chattanooga Central Purple Pounders (4-4, 3-2) on Friday.

It was a matchup that many believed Anderson County would be tested in, but they were not. The Mavs had seven total possessions in the first half, and Anderson County would score on all of them.

By the second half, Chattanooga Central faced a 48-0 deficit, and a running clock. The Mavericks cruised to a 48-7 victory over the Purple Pounders.

Anderson County received the opening kickoff, and did not use much time to take an early lead. Senior standout quarterback Stanton Martin went four-for-four on the opening drive.

The Mavs would hit paydirt when Martin found fellow Senior Cannon Carpenter in the right corner of the endzone, from 19-yards out.

The five-play 65-yard drive was capped off when Senior kicker Steve Wagner tacked on the extra point. Anderson County led 7-0, with 9:57 left in the first quarter.

The Herd’s defense would take the field on the Pounders’ opening possession.

The Central backfield would quickly meet Sophomore defensive lineman Russell Lindsay.

On first down, Lindsay violently blew up an attempted run play behind the line of scrimmage.

On third down, Sophomore defensive lineman Stone Cummins would force a fumble, which Lindsay recovered.

The Mavs’ offense took over possession with great field position. On second and ten, from the Pounders’ 26-yardline, Senior running back Ryan Moog would take a draw play up the middle. Moog would be upended after a short gain, but stuck his hand to the Anderson County turf — kept his balance and rushed for six points.

Wagner’s PAT capped off a two-play 26-yard drive, which took only 14 seconds. The Mavs took a 14-0 lead with 8:55 remaining in the opening quarter.

The Mavs defense would come up with another turnover on the ensuing drive. A bad snap would pass by Pounders quarterback Jahelm Jones, and Senior linebacker Noah Colorusso would be the first to pounce on it.

Again, Anderson County would go back on offense with great field position.

After a blindside block penalty, the Mavs faced a first and 19, but that did not help Central’s defense from keeping Anderson County out of the endzone.

Martin would get the penalty yardage back, and more when he found his favorite target — senior wide out Michael Carroll — streaking down the right sideline.

Carroll would take the reception to the house, Wagner would make the point after, and Anderson County led 21-0 with 5:01 left in the first quarter. Martin and the offense would return after a Central three-and-out, and again extend the Mavs’ lead. Facing a third-and-20, from their own 35-yardline. Martin found Carpenter to his right for a big conversion, and put Anderson County inside Central territory.

A couple of plays later, from the Pounders’ 24-yardline, Martin would find Carroll out to his left. Carroll would make the reception inside the five-yard line, and dove for the pylon.

The 24-yard touchdown pass capped off a 6-play 55-yard drive and put the Mavs up 27-0, with 11:17 left in the second quarter.

The Anderson County defense would force another three-and-out, which gave Martin and the offense another opportunity to add to their lead.

The Mavs would capitalize with a seven-play 50-yard drive capped off by a three-yard plunge by Senior running back Marquis Gallaher. Wagner’s extra point was good, and Anderson County led 34-0 with 7:20 left in the first half. On first down of Central’s next drive, the Pounders would cough up the ball again—which was recovered by Senior defensive lineman Dalton Daugherty.

The Anderson County offense would take over at their own 41-yardline. Martin would march his troops inside the Central ten-yardline, and cap off a seven-play 59-yard drive with a ten-yard strike to Senior wide receiver Logan Berry. Wagner’s successful PAT extended the Mavs’ lead to 41-0, with 3:57 left in the second quarter. On the ensuing drive, Anderson County gave up nothing and forced Central to punt. The Mavs’ gunslinger would only need one play to add six more points. From the Pounders’ 42-yardline, Martin would find Berry streaking down the Anderson County sideline. Berry made a great over-the-shoulder catch at the ten-yardline, and trotted into the endzone. The 42-yard bomb and Wagner’s extra point put the Mavs up 48-0, with 1:58 left in the half. The Pounders would finally put a scoring drive together in the second half, but hopes of a comeback were inexistent.

The Anderson County offense put up 403 total yards on Chattanooga Central, while the Pounders had only 83 yards of total offense. The Mavs look to continue playing at an elite level next week, as they host East Hamilton in Region 2 matchup. Kickoff for Friday’s game is set for 7:30.